Acer on Wednesday unveiled its latest tablet, the Iconia Tab A110, during the Computex Taipei trade show, The Verge reported. The 7-inch 1280 x 800 resolution slate is equipped with an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, a microSD card slot, a front-facing camera, HDMI connectivity and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The kicker, however, is its sub-$200 price tag. The A110 looks to be one of the first tablets that will be part of NVIDIA’s low-priced high-power Kai strategy. Google and ASUS are also expected to unveil a similar 7-inch tablet running the next version of Android, known as Jelly Bean, at the company’s annual i/O Developer Conference that is scheduled to take place in San Francisco from June 27th through June 29th. Acer’s Iconia Tab A110 will be released in the third quarter this year. More →

Intel is expected to move up the announcement of its next-generation Ivy Bridge processors from the original date of April 29th to April 23rd, Digitimes reported on Thursday. ASUS, Acer, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard are all preparing to release their second generation of ultrabooks in May, with average prices expected to “rapidly” drop from $999 to $699. To promote ultrabooks, Intel has also reportedly set up a $300 million fund to assist its partners in ultrabook design as well as research and development. Earlier rumors have suggested that Apple is planning to refresh its iMac family of computers with Intel’s 22nm-based Core i5 and Core i7 Ivy Bridge processors in June or July. The Cupertino-based company is also said to be ramping up production in preparation for thinner 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro models. More →

It is widely believed that Google will entere the tablet market in 2012 with an own-branded 7-inch Android tablet. The search giant has reportedly partnered with ASUS to build a $199 device that will compete against Amazon’s Kindle Fire. These low-cost tablets are expected to have a big impact on the entry-level tablet market and apply pressure to other vendors such as Acer, Lenovo and Samsung Electronics to cut prices, DigiTimes reported on Wednesday. The average gross margin on tablets is roughly 10% to 15% the report said, however as prices continue to drop and internal component costs increase, gross margins are expected to drop rapidly, forcing vendors and component makers to fight over narrowing profits. Google’s Nexus tablet is reportedly a “done deal” and should enter production in April and ship around June. The slate could be unveiled at Google’s annual I/O conference on June 27th if earlier rumors pan out. More →

Users who are interested in a Google-powered Chromebook only have two options, Acer’s AC700 or Samsung’s Series 5 Chromebook. Both laptops are powered by an Intel Atom processor, the only chip the platform currently supports. Recent rumors have suggest that Chrome OS may soon support ARM-based processors, however, opening up a number of new doors for the platform. According to the Chromium OS issue tracker, a new product code-named “Daisy” is mentioned numerous times, equipped a Samsung Exynos 5250 chip. Samsung’s 32nm chip will feature an ARM Cortex-A15 design and will be capable of running at speeds up to 2GHz — all while using less power than ARM Cortex-A9 chips and Intel Atom processors. The Chromium project is open-source, with user contributions playing a large roll in development. As such, the “Daisy” appearances do not necessarily mean Google is directly involved with the development.

Acer on Thursday announced the company’s first quad-core tablet for North America, the Acer Iconia Tab A510. The 10.1-inch tablet is equipped with a 1,280 x 800-pixel display, an NVIDIA Tegra 3 chipset, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a microSD slot, an HDMI port, a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 1-megapixel front facing camera. The A510 runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and has a battery life of 12 hours with video playback, according to Acer. “The new Acer Iconia Tab A510 will exceed the expectations of customers who are ready to embrace using their tablets for more fun, entertainment and a first-rate mobile gaming experience,” said Paul Tayar, director of product marketing for connected devices, Acer America. “Our second-generation Acer A510 builds on the success of its award-winning predecessor with notable improvements in performance, responsiveness and ease-of use, elevating it to the status of ultimate mobile companion. Plus, the tablet will really surprise people with its comprehensive suite of productivity apps that will enable them to remain productive and connected on-the-go.” The Iconia Tab A510 will be available in the U.S. and Canada starting at $449.99 with pre-order availability beginning immediately. Read on for Acer’s press release. More →

You would think that, given the impressive specs of its new CloudMobile smartphone, Acer would want to place this thing front and center at Mobile World Congress. Think again. For some reason, the company decided to hide its new flagship model within the Google booth. Location aside, the handset’s specs are nothing to scoff at. A 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon chip powers this monster, which sports a 4.3-inch 1,280 x 800-pixel HD screen with a truly incredible range viewing angles, and a really well-engineered tooled metal exterior. The CloudMobile software itself is heavily guarded at the moment, and Acer wouldn’t give us so much as a peek at any screens related to its upcoming cloud service, but company reps assured us that we would be “impressed” when launch time comes around. Let’s hope the software lives up to the promise of the hardware. In the meantime, be sure to check out our hands-on photos, which are linked below.

Acer was on hand during Milan’s Fashion Week to show off its CloudMobile smartphone. The handset is equipped with a 4.3-inch 1280 x 720-pixel HD display, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, NFC, an 8-megapixel camera and Android 4.1 Ice Cream Sandwich. Acer’s upcoming smartphone will also be the first device to offer AcerCloud technology, which “enhances mobile productivity by providing seamless document management.” According to NotebookItalia, the CloudMobile is the “perfect object to show to friends.” The device is said to be extremely thin with smooth lines and rounded edges that give it “definite personality.” Acer was previously awarded a prestigious IF Design award for 2012, an indicator of quality and excellence in design within the industry. The CloudMobile smartphone is currently slated to launch in the third quarter of 2012. Read on for additional images. More →

Apple’s shipments of iPads and MacBooks in the fourth quarter combined to give the Cupertino-based company a 26.6% percent share of the mobile PC market, according to a report from DisplaySearch released on Thursday. Apple shipped a total of 23.4 million units, nearly three times the amount of No.2 HP. The iPad accounted for 18.7 million units and captured 59.1% of the tablet market. Amazon shipped 5.3 million Kindle Fire’s for 16.7% of the market, with Samsung shipping 2.1 million and controlling 6.7% of the market. ASUS shipped 1.5 million units for a 4.6% market share and Barnes & Noble shipped 1.1 million units for a 3.5% share. Apple’s fourth quarter notebook shipments came in at 4.6 million units for an 8.3% share of the market. Ranking ahead of the Cupertino-based company was HP (15%), Dell (11.8%), Acer (11.8%) and Lenovo (10.8%). Read on for DisplaySearch’s press release. More →

The previously unknown CloudMobile smartphone has received the 2012 iF design award, which recognizes an outstanding achievement in design, according to Pocket-lint. The device is the latest flagship handset to come from Taiwanese manufacturer Acer, and it is expected to be unveiled at this month’s Mobile World Congress trade show. The CloudMobile is rumored to feature a 4.3-inch high-definition display, Dolby sound and Android 4.0, and it is less than 10 millimeters thick. According to Acer, the handset is the first smartphone to offer AcerCloud technology, which “enhances mobile productivity by providing seamless document management.” The CloudMobile smartphone is currently slated to launch in the third quarter of 2012.

Acer has filed a lawsuit against its former chief executive officer Gianfranco Lanci for allegedly violating a non-compete agreement. Lanci left Acer last March after the company hit a rough patch and was recently named head of Lenovo’s operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. “We believe Mr. Lanci has clearly breached the terms of the non-compete agreement he entered into willingly . . . we believe we have a very robust case,” Acer said in a statement given to the Financial Times. The Financial Times notes that Acer has fallen from the second to the fourth largest computer maker in the world while Lenovo has seen recent success and has risen to the No.2 spot. More →

Apple pulled ahead of HP in the fourth quarter to become the largest player in the client PC market, a new report suggested Monday. The Cupertino-based company shipped more than 15 million iPads and 5 million Mac computers last quarter, and those figures represented 17% of all PCs shipped around the world during the fourth quarter. The report, which comes from market research firm Canalys, said PC shipments grew 16% annually to reach 120 million during the quarter, and the firm’s categorization of “PC” includes desktops, notebooks, netbooks and tablets in its figures. Tablets drove PC growth, however, and Canalys said the market would have declined by 0.4% without taking tablets into consideration. Read on for more. More →

Acer, Asus and Lenovo will reportedly begin selling ultrabooks equipped with Intel’s fast and versatile Thunderbolt I/O port, which combines DisplayPort and PCI Express, during the second quarter of 2012. DigiTimes said mostly high-end computers will adopt Thunderbolt this year since it now costs more than $20 to add Thunderbolt connectivity to a computer. Apple was one of the first companies to adopt Thunderbolt and it currently equips a number of its computers and displays with the technology. A recent patent filing also suggested Apple may begin using Thunderbolt in iOS devices, too. More →